The heir to a Texas oil fortune has been ordered to pay $1.1 billion in a landmark ruling after he violently beating his 2-year-old stepson nearly to death — leaving the child bedridden in a wheelchair and requiring 24-hour care, according to a court.
Charles Brooks Jr. will have to pay the hefty fee after a jury ruled in favor of ex-wife Madison Ball, whose son suffered a severe brain injury at the hands of the now 34-year-old felon, Buzbee Law Firm, which represents the parents, said Thursday.
Brooks, an unemployed trust-fund baby and the great-grandson of Humble Oil founding investor Percy Turner, is already serving 40 years in a Texas prison for the heinous assault on his stepson, whom he was asked to babysit while his wife was working.
Charles Edwin Brooks Jr. was ordered to pay $1.1 billion for violently beating his 2-year-old stepson to near death in April 2021.
Brooks’ ex-wife Madison Ball in the hospital with her son Stephen Sampson after the attack. Facebook / Madison Ball
The gargantuan payout includes $291 million in compensatory damages and $810 million in punitive damages, according to court records.
The boy, now 7, was awarded $800 million — in addition to all of the compensatory damages — and his parents will receive $5 million each.
It is the largest verdict in US history for the assault of a child.
In the civil lawsuit filed by Ball on behalf of her son, Brooks was entrusted to watch the then 2-year-old on April 22, 2021 when the horrifying attack took place.
Sampson will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life. Facebook / Madison Ball
Sampson was left unable to walk after the assault and now uses a wheelchair. Facebook / Prayers for Blake
Brooks claimed he was going to visit his grandfather in a Dallas hospital and brought the boy with him.
However, the lawsuit alleged no such visit took place, and that Brooks instead viciously beat the young victim within an inch of his life.
He called Ball hours later, claiming the boy was “non-responsive” after falling off a kitchen table, the lawsuit says.
Brooks is currently booked in the San Saba County Jail, serving a 40-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a child causing serious bodily harm. Facebook
In a frightening back-and-forth ordeal, Ball demanded to see her child over a FaceTime call, during which, to her horror, she witnessed her toddler “barely breathing” while her then-husband ignored her pleas to call 911, according to court documents.
Brooks downplayed the severity of the child’s injuries, insisting he would “sleep it off” and had already been thrown into an ice bath to be revived.
He also threatened his wife that he would “snap her neck” and “f–king kill her” if she called 911.
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Ball ignored the threats and called 911 to get him the medical attention he desperately needed.
First responders arrived and discovered that the toddler was severely beaten, unresponsive and had adult bite marks on his legs.
The child sustained “a traumatic brain injury, chronic respiratory failure, seizure disorder, urethral trauma, and traumatic hemorrhage of bilateral retina,” according to the records.
Sampson was awarded $800 million in addition to $291 million in compensatory damages. Instagram / Tony Buzzbee
Ball’s son will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life, has a tracheostomy tube, is bedridden, cannot walk and cannot survive more than a couple of hours without a breathing machine due to the severity of his injuries.
“(The child’s) life is a fraction of what it once was, and he will never grow into the strong, healthy, happy boy he should of because of Brooks’ terrible, violent, horrific behavior,” the original court petition read.
A years-long court battle ensued before a jury reached its record-breaking verdict on Thursday.
The 7-year-old boy’s parents will also receive $5 million each. Facebook / Madison Ball
“We claim to value children in our society. This Texas jury stepped up and showed that. Don’t mess with Texas children,” lawyer Tony Buzbee said. “I hope that through this verdict this precious child gets all the care he will need and hopefully make his life as good as it can be made under the circumstances.”
Lawyers for Ball and the boy argued Brooks was a career criminal with prior arrests for theft, aggravated robbery, gun charges and drug possession.
After nearly killing the child, Brooks was released on bond before he cut off his ankle monitor and attempted to flee. He was later found at a sports bar in South Texas.
He is currently booked in the San Saba County Jail, serving a 40-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a child causing serious bodily harm.
Brooks is up for parole in 2042, with his projected release date on Jan. 30, 2062, when he will be 70 years old.